Netflix's ‘Beasts of No Nation’ Facing Boycott by Major Theater Chains

Netflix earlier announced that it will be releasing Beasts of No Nation simultaneously in theaters and on its streaming service later this year. However, major theater chains are refusing to show the film because the company is debuting the film simultaneously on its streaming service, according to Variety.

Netflix reportedly paid close to $12 million for the worldwide rights for the distribution of the African war drama about the plight of child soldiers. The acquisition of Beasts of No Nation marks the giant Internet streaming media service provider's renewed interest in the original film business. Just last month, it bought the war thriller Jadotville, starring Jamie Dornan, at the Berlin Film Festival after previously announcing it has secured four-picture deals with both Adam Sandler and the Duplass brothers.

According to Variety, Netflix would debut Beasts of No Nation only in "select" theaters, since most major theater chains will not to screen films that do not honor the traditional 90-day delay between their theatrical debut and their home entertainment premiere. However, Variety was separately told by AMC, Regal, Cinemark and Carmike that they do not plan to show the drama.

Last year, when Netflix said it will partner with the Weinstein Company and Imax on a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, most theater exhibitors also refused to show the film.

Still, the Alamo Drafthouse, an independent chain with 19 theaters in such states as Texas, New York and California, told Variety it will screen Netflix's Beasts of No Nation. Said Tim League, the company's CEO and founder: "I'm agnostic about this sort of thing. I look at films I want to play and I play them regardless of the release strategy. I don't look at myself as a competitor to Netflix. I think that argument is a little bit of a red herring. I watch a lot of movies at home, but there comes a time where I want to get out of the house. I look at cinemas as one of those options that compete with restaurants or baseball games or all of those things I can't do in my living room."

Directed and written by Cary Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation is adapted from the 2005 novel of the same name by Nigerian-American author Uzodinma Iweala. It follows the story of the young boy Agu, who, when civil war tears his family apart and militants kill his father in an undisclosed West African country, is forced to join a unit of mercenary fighters. The film stars Idries Elba as the warlord who takes in Abu and turns him into a child soldier by cajoling, manipulating, mentoring and otherwise systematically stripping away his sense of humanity. Elba joins a cast that includes Ama K. Abebrese, Grace Nortey, David Dontoh, and Opeyemi Fagbohungbe. The film was produced in Ghana by Participant Media and Red Crown at a reported cost of $6million.